Advising others to change career sounds very simple and a workable proposition. When it comes to us, it becomes one of the toughest decisions to implement. A career change needs lot of mental preparation. If you have a family, that may get disrupted by your career change. The income may stop for some time. The decision itself may turn out to be a wrong one. It needs mental strength to change career. Let us see what it requires.
A change of career shifts us from a comfort zone to a zone full of discomfort in the beginning. For a full time production engineer, a change to a career as human resources consultant may need a total about turn, back to school and learning new skills for the new job. Some people change careers so totally that it looks incredible. Let us talk about changes that can be done more smoothly. I am talking about learning about a new career along with the old one and then shifting to the new career slowly. This process also requires mental strength, because it needs lot of extra work.

The first barrier that one encounters while thinking of career change is- how did I get into a wrong career? What if my new decision also turns out to be wrong? What if I continue with my present career? Why should I change my career? Some of these questions need head to answer and some questions are for the heart such as asking why did I chose the wrong career to begin with, may involve damage to self esteem, and acceptance of failure.

Before thinking of changing career, one needs to do analysis of life goals, and deciding about how the present career does not satisfy those goals. Only after deciding that something drastic needs to be done can one think about changing career. One has to develop mental and emotional strength to undergo these changes and emerge a winner again.

Can we really have it all… a career, the good life and parenthood? Can parents afford to raise a child on one income? How can new parents decide whether to work or stay home with the kids.

Kristie Tamsevicius, author of I Love My Life: A Mom’s Guide to Working from Home says that the answer has never been clearer. Since September 11, 2001, people are going back to basics. Fueled by frustration with their current work environments, people long to spend more time at home with their families. This desire has led millions of parents to say “goodbye” to corporate America and “hello” to a work at home career.

One of the toughest decisions you face is whether you will stay at home with the children or go back to work. Financially, it can be difficult to make the switch to living on one income. Additionally, women often wonder if they are sacrificing their career by choosing to stay at home.

New parents are overwhelmed with the onslaught of child relating expenses including baby gear, clothing, diapers, and medical bills. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, raising a child from birth to age 2 costs $13,400 a year. So how can families cut back and survive on less income and endure these added costs?

The common myth is that if both parents work, there will be more income.

But this is not always the case. If you add up the numbers, oftentimes you are not getting ahead financially by working and paying daycare.

When you subtract childcare costs, auto expenses, dry cleaning and other work related expenses many find they are not making that much by working outside the home.

The truth is that we trap ourselves into thinking that we need two incomes to survive. Whether it’s keeping up with the Jones’ or buying high tech toys, it seems when you make more, you spend more. When our income increases, instead of banking the difference, we raise our standard of living.

The pressures of dual working parents can weigh on a family. Sometimes working mothers feel guilty for wanting to work away from home. Then there is the issue of balance. Juggling the pressures of work and home can be tough. Trying to make sure meals are made, the house is clean, and the bills get paid between running kids to soccer practice is trying.

We have to ask what we are teaching our kids with our busy lifestyles.

Are we teaching our kids that this pace of life is normal and desirable?

Will daycare teach your kids the values you would?

No one will love and teach your kids the way you do. Daycare will attend to the physical needs of your child, but are they teaching your kids the values and lessons you would? In situations such as the bullying kid at daycare, or the fight over toys is the daycare provider shaping your child’s character in the same way you would?

Children reap vast benefits when moms stay at home. Mothers can provide care with love. They are there to discipline and teach proper behaviors. While spending quality time, mothers can develop a lasting bond with their children. This bond creates a stronger sense of security and well being within the child.

Kids enjoy other benefits too. Moms can provide a more varied diet and better nutrition. And children receive more mental stimulation when one on one sharing time with mom.

How can moms learn to live on less and stay at home with the kids?

Shopping smart saves money. Thrifty minded moms cut coupons, look for sales, and buy in bulk to cut costs. Many families are learning that a simple life beats the pressures of trying to keep up. By setting a lower standard of living, you can learn to enjoy the simple things. You teach your children that wealth lies not in material possessions, but in the joy of living.

Working from home can help parents to have the best of both worlds:
precious family time and extra income.

Statistics show that today’s working people are eager to say “goodbye” to corporate life and say “hello” to the joys of working from home.

Working from home offers a variety of benefits including being your own boss, flexibility, the ultimate office space, no commute, increased control, time with family, and the sheer joy of designing your own business and life.

Entrepreneurship offers thrills, stimulation, challenge, and a new powerful choice-driven reality. It provides an option for single parents and families struggling with family and career concerns. It’s allowing dads to quit the 9-to-5 grind and stay at home with the kids.

It’s providing a new chance for people who have been laid off or kicked out of the corporate system. It’s providing a new income-earning opportunity for people who can’t live on their retirement funds alone.

At-home careers offer an income for people with disabilities who have trouble finding jobs in the traditional workplace.

So realize that as a parent, now you don’t have to decide to work or stay at home, you can have both: a career and time with your kids.

Are you searching for a new job or a new career?  If you are, you may have searched for jobs online or even in your newspaper’s employment section. Although these resources are great ones, you may want to think about trying career fairs, as they are a great way to find available job positions, as well as apply for them at the same time. 

Although there is a good chance that you have heard of a career fair before, there is also a chance that you haven’t.  If you didn’t already know, career fairs are events that are often free and held in large public places. Most career fairs are held at hotels or in shopping malls.  During a career fair, a number of employers, particularly those who are hiring, set up booths. Those booths are where participating employers will have information, including pictures, write ups, and more, about their company displayed.  Most career fair employer participants also often have a company representative or two on hand, to accept applications and sometimes even do onsite interviews.

As nice as it is to know what career fairs are, you may be wondering why you should attend one.  As it was previously mentioned, a large number of employers often come to career fairs. The exact number will all depend on the size of the establishment in question.  Even the smallest of career fairs tend to house about forty or fifty hiring employers.  Using the internet or searching for job listings in your local newspaper will never be able to produce this many employers in such a small amount of time.

Career fairs are also nice because the participating employers often run different types of businesses.  For instance, at one of your local career fairs, employers looking for construction workers, nurses, secretaries, or teachers could have booths set up.  This is nice because it can give you ideas or cause you to examine another job or career, one that you may have not thought of before.  Also, when attending a career fair, you are under no obligation to provide prospective employers with your resume or your contact information, although it is advised that you do so.  This means that you could not only use a career fair to find available jobs, but you can also use them to examine all of your options or to set new career goals for yourself. 

If you are interested in attending a career fair, you will need to be able to find them. As it was previously mentioned, most career fairs are held in public establishments, like hotels or shopping centers.  Many career fairs are advertised at their locations in advance.  It may be a little bit harder to examine local hotels, but you may be able to see career fair signs when shopping at your favorite retail stores.  You should also be able find out about locally hosted career fairs by using the internet or your local newspapers, as many career fair organizers take out advertisements.

The decision as to whether or not you want to attend a career fair is yours to make, but it is something that may result in a new job or a new career. For the best chance of success at career fairs, you will want to make sure that you dress professionally, bring extra copies of your resume to handout, as well as always be prepared for an interview. All career fairs are different, but some employers are known to give prospective candidates interviews right on the spot, as well as hire new employees!